Christina East (left) and Renee Rickhi
Christina East and Renee Rickhi shattered another glass ceiling earlier this month when East was elected the first female president and Rickhi, the first female club captain respectively, of the 16-year-old Driftwood Hunting Club.
Both women are also the first females to be named to lead any gun or hunting club in Jamaica.
"The shooting world is a man's world and when I started learning to shoot over 20 years ago, it was a male-dominated sport with few women, whether it was sporting clays or rifle or pistol and when the influx of women came into the sport it drew a lot of attention. And when women started to do better than men in the different classes whether it was JRA (Jamaica Rifle Association) or the Skeet Club, it made the sport more competitive,” said East.
“Women made it more fun and more entertaining and women brought more flair to the shooting fraternity. Being a founding member of the Driftwood Gun Club, for the last 15 years we have managed a lot of charity and donations events across St. Elizabeth.
“The aim is to continue to assist those in need from the early childhood institutions in Treasure Beach that we do support and the bird boys to help them personally develop themselves and to continue to grow the club's membership.”
She believes the time was right for the club to have a female president.
"As the first female president of the gun club in Jamaica, I think that It’s the right time for a woman to ‘start leading and to start to make an impression on the shooting fraternity. Driftwood is a young club but has made a big impression on all the gun clubs. We are considered trendsetters among the shooting clubs and I have been among the group that has brought new ideas, events and vibes to the shooting arena. We host great shoots and other events and we intend to grow the members and to continue to personally and professionally teach them safety and to sharpen their skills.
"I also think it’s important that women be encouraged to be responsible firearm users and to be able to defend themselves, especially in a high-crime area. Under my leadership, we will specifically target women and encourage women to participate and learn to defend themselves and to take up competitive shooting and to really be great at it.
“It’s great that the club, which is predominantly male, has chosen two women to hold the two most prominent positions in the club. With Renee as the club captain, it demonstrates that women are highly regarded and respected in this sport.”
Rickhi said she was happy that the club has demonstrated its confidence in her abilities.
"I am honoured to be the first woman club captain of a hunting club in Jamaica. I am grateful to the members of Driftwood for having the confidence in me to give me this task,” she said.
“ A club captain of a hunting club has a lot of responsibility; land acquisition, field preparation and shoot management. We have to make sure that our birds are there, we are getting enough rise, they are coming to the field, watching the flight to determine the best position for the members. The good thing about my club is that we have a lot of fun but you still want them to have a great shoot no matter what. It’s a lot of work, especially closer to the season, but it's also a great time as well, especially the road trips and I want to commend Driftwood for choosing me as their club captain, as a woman and for choosing Christina East as their president."
Simpson, McMaster on target at Driftwood Gun Club Sporting Clays tourney
Three-time winner Craig Simpson and four-time female winner Aliana McMaster finished tops at the Driftwood Gun Club Shoot at the 17-station Murphy Hill Course in St Ann recently.
Both competitors shot 95 out of 100 targets and dominated the packed field, which included a total of 157 of the best gunners on the island, such as nine-time national shotgun champion and president of the Jamaica Skeet Club Ian Banks; six-time national shotgun champion and defending champion Shaun Barnes; four-time and reigning national shotgun champion Christian Sasso; Chad Ziadie, the 2022 national shotgun champion; as well as five-time national female shotgun champion Wendy McMaster.
The young McMaster already created history by being the first female to make it to the A Class late last year and her score of 95 again etched her name in the history books, as it is the highest by any female locally. When her score was posted most people thought it very possible that she won, which would make her the first female to win any sporting clay event in Jamaica, but Simpson roared back with his high-scoring 95 to set up a tense shoot-off between them.
In the end, Simpson took down six of the eight targets, while McMaster struck only four.
“Winning is always an amazing feeling, it’s what keeps us going. I tell everybody that I don’t think I leave my house if I was not coming here to win. I am hungry for the win. Always hungry for the win. I am always excited about the competitive field, and as the years go by with the juniors emerging, the field only becomes more competitive, and it's an internal challenge to stay relevant. I have been able to do that over the years and I plan to continue to be there for as long as I can, but they are coming," Simpson said.
McMaster, on the other hand, was also happy with her performance.
“It’s honestly an amazing feeling. After you have a reputation or expectation from the people coming to the shoot it can get to you and really mess up your head. I feel it can play a big part in how that day goes, but I just had to approach it like any other shoot and just do my best, and frankly, winning four times in a row is honestly such a great feeling and I am absolutely grateful for it," she noted.
Meanwhile, the top three in the various classes were A Class: Christian Sasso (92) by way of shoot-off with William Zager (92) and Alex Cunningham (91); B Class: Gordon Bucknor (86), Robin Rickhi (84), and Zachary Harris (81); C Class: Brandon Laing (90), Adam Harris (85), and Wendy McMaster (85); D Class: Lori-Ann Harris (85) and Noah Vaughn (84); E Class: Seymour Essor (69), David Campbell (67), and Anthony Ayoub (67); Ladies: Aliana McMaster (95), Lori-Ann Harris (85), and Wendy McMaster (85); Hunters or Beginners: Philip Burgess (77), Cameron Lee (69), and Che Rowe (68); Juniors Aliana McMaster (95), David Wong (87), and Lori-Ann Harris (85); and Sub Juniors: Craig Powell Jr (55) and Levi Clarke (48).
Barnes, McMaster to defend Driftwood Gun Club Sporting Clays Shoot
Three-time defending champion Aliana McMaster and defending champion Shaun Barnes are ready to defend their Driftwood Gun Club titles on Sunday at the picturesque Murphy Hill Estate over-looking the town of Ocho Rios.
The event will begin at 9:30 am, with over 150 shooters set to contest the 17-station course.
It kicks off the first sporting clays shoot of the year for the Jamaica Skeet Club, which has a busy 2024 calendar.
Barnes, the six-time national shotgun champion, will battle the likes of four-time national champion Christian Sasso and nine-time national shotgun champion and current Jamaica Skeet Club president Ian Banks, as well as two-time Driftwood Gun Club champion Craig Simpson, the red-hot Nick Benjamin, with multiple wins under his belt in 2023, and the very consistent Ray McMaster among other outstanding shooters. They will be challenged by several sharp shooting juniors.
Meanwhile, the Ladies section will also be competitive with McMaster expected to be challenged by her mother, many-time national shotgun champion Wendy McMaster, former national shotgun champion Marguerite Harris and a number of very good lady shooters such as Renee Rickhi, Loriann Harris and others.
The shooters will compete in various classes including A to E, Juniors, Sub-Juniors, Ladies and Hunters or beginners.
Proceeds from the tournament will be used for the Driftwood Gun Club’s charities, which are dominated by educational support in the Treasure Beach area in the parish of St. Elizabeth.
Club president, Christina East is happy to have Proven on board for the fourth consecutive year as major sponsor. She credited David East who passed away in 2020 with playing a pivotal role in securing the venue (Murphy Hill) as the home of the club's annual competition.
East was considered to be a visionary club member who only wanted the best for sporting clays in Jamaica, hence the competition is held in his honour. This year marks twenty years of existence for the Driftwood Gun Club.
Bradshaw, Bramwell among shooters on target at JRA's Christmas Hamper
Five of Jamaica's best shooters captured top spots in the five competitive divisions of the Jamaica Rifle Association's (JRA) Christmas Hamper at the Woodleigh Shooting Range in Clarendon, on Saturday.
A total of 54 competitors took to the 10-stage range under sometimes cloudy skies. In the end, Ryan Bramwell topped the Open Division, Chris Hart bagged the Carry Optic Division, Petrano Belafonte secured the Limited Optics Division, and Greg Henry held on to the Limited Division, while Michael Bradshaw was the surprise winner of the Production Division.
Bramwell, who ended with 887.45 points, ahead of Andrew Yap's 795.02 and Alrice Palmer's 726.34 in the Open Division, was overjoyed.
"I am very happy with my performance on the weekend. I really wanted to win the year with a strong performance, and I shot a very fast and accurate match on Saturday. When the dust settled, I ended up winning eight of the ten stages in my division and I won the match by eleven percent and ninety-two match points which is actually the largest margin of victory all year. My performance is the result of all the work that I have put in," Bramwell said.
"I have actually done a lot of observation and analysis when I attended the US IPSC Nationals in November, and this match presented me with an opportunity to put some of that knowledge and information gained into practice, and I think I have a lot more in the tank. I am really looking forward to 2024 as my training and preparation for the World Shoot which is in 2025 continues. It is setting up to be a really exciting year ahead and I can't wait for the action to start in January," he added.
The Production Division was very competitive with under two points separating Bradshaw and runner-up Anthony Johnson. Bradshaw who switched division from Carry Optics to Production, put in a disciplined performance to post 554.43 points with the experienced Johnson (552.68 points) and Sanjay Welsh (533.97 points) behind.
"My performance on Saturday was a result of both mental and physical training weeks before the Christmas Hamper. Production is the division which I first started shooting and I decided to shoot the same to tighten up a few fundamental aspects of my shooting. Being focused is also one of the main reasons why I was able to come out on top as one can easily lose focus whilst going through the stages, hence I knew I had to remain focused because I knew I was going up against some of the top shooters in the country," said Bradshaw.
Hart's 714.40 points was good enough to bag the Carry Optics Division ahead of the fast-charging Darin Richards (697.86 points) and Christopher Nunez (664.87 points). Experienced female shooter Yeonie Campbell, who opted to shoot Carry Optics instead of her customary Production Division, placed fourth with 566.90 points.
Belafonte secured the Limited Optics Division with 713.03 points, well ahead of Adrian Randle (692.74 points) and Ekepedeme Otuokon (652.53 points), while Henry (668.42 points), proved too good for rivals in the Limited Division. He won ahead of Ronald Brown (642.19 points) and Paul Dixon (541.74 points).
Meanwhile, Jamaica Constabulary Force ladies, Constable Shayon Francis (644.32 points) and Detective Sergeant Sasha Mullings (518.35 points), dominated the law enforcement category, as they placed first and second respectively.
Newly-elected JRA president Rohan Wilson said the event was significant in helping shooters with preparation in their build-up to the International Practical Shooting Confederation World Shoot in South Africa in 2025
"There will be a team of so far eight that will be going (and) the team is now in the process of being selected. This was not one of the qualifying events but nonetheless, it is one of our preparatory events, and so we are grateful to the Woodleigh Shooting Range which offers a great spread in terms of real estate. We did see quite a number of competitors exercise extreme dexterity in the way they performed, and it was just an awesome competition to watch," Wilson said.
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